Author J.K. Rowling has fallen silent on her usually busy X (formerly Twitter) feed, after Olympic gold medalist boxer Imane Khelif filed a legal complaint in France for alleged cyber harassment over statements regarding her gender.
On August 9, lawyers for Khelif filed a lawsuit with a special unit of the public prosecutor's office in Paris, stemming from false statements that spread online about her gender after the Algerian boxer defeated Italy's Angela Carini in her first fight of the 2024 Olympic Games. Carini pulled out 46 seconds into the bout and told reporters afterwards that she had "never felt a punch like this."
The fight sparked questions about Khelif's gender. Last year boxer was blocked from competing in the International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships after failing an unspecified sex-verification test. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has cast doubt on the validity on the test, which also disqualified Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting from competing in the 2023 World Championship.
Khelif claimed gold in the women's welterweight Olympic division on August 9, winning Algeria's first medal in women's boxing. Lin won gold in the women's flyweight division the following day.
Harry Potter author Rowling—who has faced backlash over her comments about transgender people for a number of years—was among those who slammed Khelif's inclusion in the Olympics, incorrectly referring to the boxer as a "man."
"Watch this (whole thread), then explain why you're OK with a man beating a woman in public for your entertainment," Rowling wrote on X. "This isn't sport. From the bullying cheat in red all the way up to the organizers who allowed this to happen, this is men reveling in their power over women."
In another post, Rowling directed criticism at a video clip showing Kirsty Burrows, head of the Safe Sport Unit at the IOC, speaking about how the organization was offering "the most comprehensive package of mental health and safeguarding initiatives" ever at a sporting event.
"A young female boxer has just had everything she's worked and trained for snatched away because you allowed a male to get in the ring with her," Rowling responded. "You're a disgrace, your 'safeguarding' is a joke and #Paris24 will be forever tarnished by the brutal injustice done to Carini."
Rowling also shared a photo of Khelif looking at a tearful Carini after their bout came to a premature end.
"Could any picture sum up our new men's rights movement better?" the writer asked. "The smirk of a male who's knows he's protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he's just punched in the head, and whose life's ambition he's just shattered."
Rowling has been silent on X since August 7, when she shared a post from researcher Maya Forstater, who was fired from her job after making anti-trans statements.
Days later, on August 13, Variety reported that Rowling, former President Donald Trump and billionaire X owner Elon Musk were mentioned in Khelif's lawsuit for having made or shared comments regarding her gender.
The harassment lawsuit alleges "aggravated cyber-harassment" against Khelif, according to a statement from the boxer's lawyer, Nabil Boudi, who was quoted by The Associated Press. Variety reported that the complaint was filed against X, which means under French law that it was filed against unknown persons. Investigators at the Paris prosecutor's office will determine who could be at fault in Khelif's complaint.
Newsweek has contacted a representative of Rowling via email for comment.
While the outcome of the lawsuit remains to be seen, France this year set a precedent with the country's largest cyberbullying case, which concluded with 28 people being jailed for up to 18 months.
Those in question were convicted of harassing Magali Berdah, dubbed "the queen of influencers," amid French rapper Booba's campaign against "thieving influencers." Booba, whose given name is Élie Thitia Yaffa, is facing a separate trail. He has denied aggravated harassment.
Berdah rose to fame as a lifestyle and fashion expert, and also markets other social media influencers via her company, Shauna Events.
Her lawyers argued that Booba's posts encouraged a "mob" of social media users to send her insulting and hateful messages. The case concluded with the 28 defendants receiving jail terms ranging in length from four to 18 months. Some of the sentences were suspended.
Khelif spoke about how the erroneous statements regarding her gender during the Olympics had affected her, saying that "there was a lot of noise from politicians, athletes, stars, artists—Elon Musk and Donald Trump and that hurt me a lot, I cannot describe how scared I was."
'This affected me. I'm not lying to you, it affected me a lot," she went on. "It hurt a lot. I can't describe the fear I had but thank God I was able to overcome it. Thank God, all the people of Algeria and the Arab world knew Imane Khelif with her femininity, her courage, her will."
She added: "This is a big shame for my family, for the honor of my family, for the honor of Algeria, for the women of Algeria and especially the Arab world. The whole world knows I am a Muslim girl."
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